Well, maybe not a boy, but he has a story the beleaguered new retail water provider would love to hear more often.

Tony Hodges, of Pelican Waters, is the other side of the tale.

Both are pedantic scrutinisers of the daily cost of living. Both keep records, are frugal in their ways and active in their pursuit of water conservation.

That, though, is where the similarities end.

Doug remembers how, until council amalgamation, Caloundra City took the sensible step of placing a blue card in letter boxes to inform residents their meters had been read, including the date and the number.